Friday, June 18, 2004

Guilty Cinema: The Boy In the Plastic Bubble

I happened upon this movie a few years ago, during an early morning viewing on Cinemax. And what a goddamn treat.

John Travolta must live in a bubble. And by "bubble", I refer to the plastic shower curtain lazily hung in the middle of his parents' living room. Note how the "bubble" also has a huge open doorway, with a tiny fan blowing out the "germs." How do we know there's a fan? There are three pastel ribbons barely blowing out of the doorway, proving said airflow. Also, Travolta spends the entire movie in a wifebeater and retro basketball shorts, because "ees really haht in dis bubb-le." You don't know the half of it, Johnny!

WARNING: SPOILERS! At one point, Travolta has a great idea - a portable bubble! He maps out a diagram on some lined construction paper with a huge black crayon: It's a stick figure, in a space suit, with a huge box strapped to its back, and a helpful arrow labelling it as a "Battery Pack."

Cut to: The end of the movie where Travolta graduates wearing a 6 foot long oven mitt/lobster costume, and a smart looking mortarboard.

An interesting fact about this movie: The woman playing Travolta's mother, Diana Hyland, was actually his lover in real life for many years. She past away from cancer when J.T. was still in his prime.

On a serious note: I would suggest watching this movie on mute for the first time. The dialogue is genius, but watching these antics with no sound.... there are no words.

Also, the DVD is only $5.99 at Best Buy!! (Possibly because the disc is made of matzah and recycled pickle jars.)